Hulu, ITV close on equity deal

US video on demand venture Hulu is close to agreeing a deal with ITV for the commercial public service broadcaster to take a major stake in the platform's UK launch.

Under the deal, which could be agreed by the end of November, ITV would hold a 25% equity stake in the UK operation of the Disney, NBC Universal, Providence Equity and News Corp joint venture, reports MediaWeek.

It is understood that a separate deal is already in place for Hulu to carry full ITV programs when it arrives in the UK. The equity agreement has been complicated, though, by questions over control of advertising sales around ITV content on the platform.

However, sources close to the deal now say that a "happy compromise" has been reached, freeing up ITV to proceed with the agreement.

Should the deal go ahead, Hulu will officially start its search for a full-time UK chief executive, with senior vice president of international Johannes Larcher taking on the role in an interim capacity.

After the collapse of IPTV joint venture Project Kangaroo earlier in the year, the UK launch of Hulu appeared imminent, but competition concerns have delayed its arrival.

A competitive market awaits the service when it does reach these shores, with MSN Video, BlinkBox and Arqiva's SeeSaw - formed from the technology developed for Kangaroo - all holding consumer propositions.

Channel 4 also recently agreed a deal with YouTube to make its 4OD on-demand service available for free on the video sharing site, backed by advertising support.